Forget potholes, trenches now line Mumbai's arterial roads

Itrsquos been more than three weeks since midday reported how potholes in western suburbs were giving road users a rough ride and little has changedOnly one road in Santacruz which was one among the rutted four we had focused on has been evened out the others hang on to their potholes In fact rather than alleviation expect an aggravation of the problem on some of the cityrsquos arterial routes as the BMC has started replacing pipelinesWork has started on the northbound stretch of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road near Dadar flyover even as portions of service road in Andheri East along the WEH are being dug up frustrating motorists At CST work on replacing storm water drains is forcing traffic to flow one wayService road along WEH near AndheriThe BMC has also started laying pipelines on the southbound service road along WEH near the pump house area in Andheri EThe service road in Andheri is hardly of any service to commutersThe road is already narrow and the ongoing work only knots up the traffic some more during morning peak hours Motorists coming via Andheri subway use this route to go to the highwayThe BMC signboard states the work started in March 2013 and will be completed by March 2016 not counting the monsoon periods Locals though claim the work near the pump house started only a few days backMahapalika Road CSTTraffic has worsened in the city due to the ongoing work of replacing decadesold sewerage and storm water drain lines under the roads At many places BMC has dug up roads and kept the new pipes on the roadside narrowing the usable road These giant conduits are a hindrance to vehiclesThe road has been turned inside out for laying down storm water drain pipelines necessitating blocking movement of traffic toward CSTThe corporation has allocated a budget of R20 crore for replacement of sewer lines the purpose of which is to increase the watercarrying capacity of the new pumping stationThe Mahapalika Marg has been turned inside out for laying down storm water drain pipelines necessitating blocking the movement of traffic toward CST The BMC has made a fiveyear plan to replace the sewer lines all over the cityAmbedkar Road near DadarThe BMCrsquos hydraulic engineering department has started replacing water pipelines that are more than 50 years old on this arterial road on the side heading north just 150200 metres before Dadar TT flyoverExcavations have eaten into the busy Dr B R Ambedkar Road in DadarMore than half of one lane has been barricaded and the road has been excavated to replace old pipes with new bigger ones which have been kept right on the road hogging at least six feet of itThus going north in evening peak hours through this road is an ordeal as vehicles from south Mumbai head to the eastern suburbs A traffic police constable requesting anonymity said ldquoIn the morning it isnrsquot that bad as most of the traffic is moving towards south Mumbai but in the evening peak hours we have to deploy extra constables to dispel the jams on the stretchrdquoCommuters are advised not to hold their proverbial breath waiting for the work to get over A signboard on the site put up by the BMC states that the work of laying a new water pipeline of 1500 mm started in December 2014 and will be completed by November 2017Roads to perditionOn December 4 midday reported lsquoThese four roads in Mumbai desperately need to be repairedrsquo how the MahimDharavi bridge road a private road in Santacruz West going to Daulat Nagar the Aarey Milk Colony road and Kasturba road in Borivli are riddled with potholes becoming a source of irritation for commutersAarey RoadAfter our report the Slum Rehabilitation Authority SRA repaired the private road in Santacruz but the other three retain their pitiable status When we visited the Aarey road recently we noticed a patchwork job of mending but jagged surfaces and craters persist The entire stretch of Kasturba road continues to await repairs